222 Checking and filling
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
.&_ WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get
very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca lding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large , thick rag .
- Tu rn the cap slowly and
very carefully
in a counter -clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en
g ine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an
t ifreeze in its original container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con
ta iner clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l
ant will be forced out through the pres
sure relief valve i n the cap when the en
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between wate r
and antifreeze ~
page 220 must be re
stored as soon as possib le.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant should not be reused . Al
ways dispose of used coolant while
observ
ing all environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
An auxilia ry electric r adiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolan t tempera ture
and other vehicle operat ing condit ions .
After you switch the engine off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even w ith the ignition off . It can even swi tch
on aga in later by itself
c> .&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartmen t, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
.&_ WARNING ,_
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running .
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reac hes a certain t emperature and wi ll
continue to run until the coolant temper
a ture drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fi g. 19 2 Engin e compart ment: cover on t he bra ke fluid
re servoir
Ill>
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always r ead and heed all W ARN
ING S ~ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 213.
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 192, ~ page 215,
fig . 188.
The brake fluid level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fl uid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 215.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on
~ page 14. Do not con
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali
f ied fac ility and the cause corrected . If the
b rake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
hi gh, cor rosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerab ly and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two ye ars. A lways use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r ca n be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that yo u
h ave the brake fl uid changed by you r autho r
i zed
Audi de aler . Your dea le r has the correct
Checkin g and fillin g 223
tools, the right brake fl uid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only b rake fluid tha t meets SA E
spe cificat ion
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicl e Standard
116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of
brake f luid is also ind icated on the
brake f luid reservoir .
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes ca n cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long. This can se riously affect the effi
c iency of the b rakes as well as your
safety , T his could result in an accident.
(!) Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
r ecommend that you have th e brake flu id
changed by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operating cond itions, the bat
tery in your Audi does not need any ma inte
nance . With
high outside temperatu res or
lo ng da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by a se rv ice fa
c il ity. The ele ctroly te leve l should also be
chec ked each t ime the battery is cha rged
~ page 226 . Iii>
•
•
224 Check ing and filling
Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than 5 years .
W ith certa in types o f airbag deployment, the
battery is disconnected from the vehicle elec
trica l system for safety reasons¢
& in Re
pair, core and disposal of the airbags on
page 158.
Disconn ecting the battery terminal s
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
e lectrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for l ong period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capab il ity over a longer period
¢
page 195. Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, s uch as the inte rior
lights or power seat adjus tment. The conven
ience f unctions will be available again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en gine.
Winter operation
D uring the winter months, ba tte ry capaci ty
tends to decrease as tempe rat ures d rop . This
is because more powe r is also consumed while
starting , and the headlights, rear window de
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticular ly in c ity traffic or when t raveling on ly
short distances. Let you r authorized Audi
dea ler check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before winter sets in
¢ page 226. A we ll
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold , but w ill
also last longer .
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery sho uld be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze . This will
prevent it from be ing damaged and having
to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor. Before you check any
t hi ng in the luggage compartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ ,& .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lec
trical system to prevent inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery :
Al ways heed the follo wing WARNING SYM -
BOLS and safety precautions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye prote cti on.
&
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid.
Always wear glove s and eye protec-
tion.
@
No
- spa rks
- flames
- smoking.
£
When a battery i s charged, it produ-
ce s hydrogen gas which is e xplosi ve
and could cau se personal injury.
@
Alwa ys k eep the battery well out of
rea ch of children .
_&. WARNING ~
Whenever working on t he battery o r on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
i njury, accident and even fire . Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
-
-Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing. Shield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Sulfu
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open
ings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg -
ative cables .
= When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca ble .
- Before performing any work on the elec
trical system, switch off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected . If you are just go
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other
wise you will set off the alarm.
Checking and filling 225
-When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable . Never inter
change the cables -this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery . It could explode! If a battery has
frozen , then it must be replaced . A dis
charged battery can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 °C) .
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach
ed to the opening on the side of the bat
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al
ways replace a damaged battery.
&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive problems. Wash hands after han dling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en gine is running, otherwise, you will dam
age electronic components in the e lectri
cal system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
- When opening the doors, the windows
lower approximately 10 mm automati
cally . This function is not available when
the battery is disconnected, which
means there is a risk that the door sea l
or the window could be damaged.
•
•
CD Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc., as well
as the battery charger .
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery .
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle is respons ible for distributing the electri
cal energy throughout your vehicle
c::> page 195. The intelligent energy manage
ment system w ill keep the engine battery
charged bette r than vehicles w ithout t his sys
tem. To make sure the additional electr ica l en
ergy is available once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and manu
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations are listed on the battery hous ing. Your
author ized dealer must code the battery in
the energy management system to enable you
to use the energy management functions cor
rectly after replac ing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, const ruct ion
and p lug sealing.
When installing the battery, make sure the ig
n ition and all electr ical consumers are sw itch
ed off .
CD Note
Make sure the ventilation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Aud i dealer change the battery for
you . Batteries contain su lfuric ac id and
Checkin g and fillin g 22 7
lead and must always be disposed o f prop
erly in compliance with a ll environmental
regulations. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dangerous to the envi
ronment .
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
Fig. 194 Engine compart ment: cover on th e windshield
and headl ig ht* washer fluid reservo ir
The washer fluid conta iner is marked w ith the
symbol~ on its cap
c::> fig. 194, c::>page 215,
fig. 188.
.,. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS c::> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 213.
.. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu
id. You can f ill the container to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the fi ller neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservoir
capacity in the table
in
c::> page 271.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. Always add a g lass cleaner solu
tion (with frost protection in the winter).
([) Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind
shield washer reservoir .
•
•
-Do not change the tire pressure when the
temperature of the tire is high. This
could result in serious damage to the tire
and even cause the tire to burst, increas
ing the risk of an accident.
- A tire with low pressure flexes more. This
heats the tire up too much . Th is could
cause the tread to separate and even
cause the tire to burst, increasing the
risk of an accident .
- The tire pressure monitoring system
does not warn about damage or defects
in the tire construct ion that could cause
the tire to burst, for examp le. Inspect
your ti res regularly.
@) For the sake of the environment
Low tire pressure increases fuel consump
tion and tire wear.
(D Tips
-If tires are replaced, the sensors/valves
do not need to be removed or replaced.
Just replace the valve stem and, if neces
sary, the valve and the wheel electronics.
If you have questions, see your author
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop.
- Using the tire mobility kit can results in
an incorrect display or a malfunction in
the tire pressure monitoring system.
Have the sensors replaced by an author
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop.
Display tire pressures/temperatures
Fig. 200 Infotai nm en t: t ire pres sur e mo nito rin g sys
tem
Tires and wheels 247
Requirement: the ignition must be switched
on .
'" Select: the
I CAR I function button > Car sys
tem s
> Servicing & checks > Tire pressure
monitoring
> Di sp lay tire pressures.
The current tire pressures are shown in green
and yellow numbers:
-green: the current tire pressure and the
specified tire pressure are approximately the
same.
-yellow: the current tire pressure is too low
compared to the specified tire pressure.
The specified tire pressure is the last tire pres
sure that was stored
c::> page 248
Note that the tire pressure also depends on
the temper ature of the tire . Every 50 °F
(10
°() increase in tire temperature results in
the tire pressure increas ing by approximately
0.1 bar . The tire pressure increases as the en
gine becomes warmer while driving .
.&_ WARNING
Read and follow the important informa
tion and notes
c::> page 246 .
© Tips
The t ire pressure or temperature are not
displayed in adaptat ion mode. Dashes--,-
are shown in place of the pressure and
temperature.
ill Tire pressure loss
Fig. 201 Disp lay: in dic ator light w ith a message
-
248 Tires and wheels
If the [fJ] indicator light turns on, the pressure
in at least one tire is too low or new sensors
were not adapted:
[f!l indicator lights turns on after turning
the ignition on
The tire pressure is too low compared to the
specified pressure.
.,. Check and store the tire pressure(s) the next
time it is possible¢
page 248.
[f!l indicator light turns on while driving
Wheels with new sensors were not adapted or
the tire pressure has reached a critical level
compared to the spec ified pressure.
.,. Avoid unnecessary steering and braking ma
neuvers .
.,. Adapt your driving style to the situation .
.,. Stop as soon as possible and check the
ti re(s).
.,. If it is possible to continue driving, see an
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified work
shop immediately and have your tire(s) re
paired or replaced.
A WARNING
Read and follow the important informa
tion and notes
~page 246.
Storing new tire pressures
-
Correctly stored tire pressure specifications
are necessary for reliable tire pressure moni
toring.
.,. Check the tire pressures in all wheels.
.,. If necessary, correct the tire pressure ac
cording to the specifications on the sticker
on the side of the driver's door . Only correct
the pressure in tires whose temperature is
approximately the same as the ambient
temperature. If the temperature of the tire
is higher than ambient temperature, the tire
pressure must be increased approximately
0.2 bar above the value on the sticker.
.,. Switch on the ignition.
.,. Select :
I CARI function button > Car systems
> Tire pressure monitoring > Store tire pressures.
After storing,
the tire pressure
monitoring system measures the current
tire pressures and stores them as the new
specified pressures.
,. If the changed tire pressures are not dis
played in the Infotainment system, drive the
veh icle for approx imately 10 minutes so
that the sensor signal from the wheels is re
ceived aga in .
During this adaptation phase,--,--is displayed
for the pressure and temperature and the tire
pressure monitoring system is only partially
available.
It only provides a warning if one or
more tire pressures is be low the min imum
permitted spec ified pressure . If this is the
case, the
[fJ] indicator light appears with a
message.
A WARNING
Read and follow the important informa
tion and notes¢
page 246.
Malfunctions
Fig. 202 Display : indicator light with a message
-
If the tire pressure monitoring system is not
available,
the m indicator light appears in
the driver information system. The
[fJ] indica
tor light also blinks for approximately one mi
nutes each time the ignition is switched on.
The tire pressure monitoring system cannot be selected in the Infotainment system. The
malfunction could be caused by the following
examples:
- If the message appears at the end of the
adaptation phase, the system cannot detect
the wheels installed on the vehicle. This may
resu lt from one or more wheels being ..,.
installed without wheel sensors or with in
compatible wheel sensors.
- A whee l sensor or another component has
failed.
- Using snow cha ins can affect the function of
the system because of the shie lding effect
of the chains.
- Th e tire pressure monitoring system is not
available due to a malfunction .
- Transmitters with the same frequency, such
as headphones or remote -contro lled devi
ces, may cause a temporary system ma l
function due to the strong electromagnetic
field.
The
ffim indicator light turns off once the ti re
press ure monitoring system is avai lab le again.
If you cannot correct the malfunction and the
m i ndicator light stays on, drive to an au
thor ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop
to have the ma lfunction corrected .
Tires and wheels 249
•
•